(Yicai Global) Dec. 6 -- Housing regulators in the central Chinese city of Wuhan vowed to conduct more comprehensive inspections of all on-sale and under-construction property projects in the city after holding a supervisory conference yesterday.

Wuhan, in Hubei province, has been pressing forward with its plan to tackle issues in the real estate market since the beginning of this year. Wuhan Municipal Housing Support and Building Administration Bureau decided to roll out the new wave of supervision and called upon local housing regulators to crack down on property speculation.

By the end of last month, it had inspected 1,057 developments and 2,260 agencies, punishing over 100 developers and 500 intermediaries. It also probed 45 suspects through joint cases with law enforcement departments and locked up 22 criminals, acting as a deterrent to other violators in the real estate market.

The city began a regulatory sweep in November, cracking down on violators who mislead market participants, hoard properties, covertly raise prices and bundle properties. Perpetrators will find themselves blacklisted and may face criminal charges or market restrictions.

Last month, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and National Development and Reform Commission rolled out new rules for property regulators in several major Chinese cities: Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Hefei, Jinan, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Guangzhou, Foshan, Haikou, Sanya, and Xi'an.

Under the new directive, provincial inspectors are unable to investigate cities within their regular jurisdiction, i.e. the province in which they are based. Those found guilty face similar punishments to violators under Wuhan's new policy.